Clan Wars
by WingedPanther73
Summary: Sybil was complaining about inane vampire/Gundam Wing stories that are out there. This is my retaliation. Warnings: language, mild gore
1. Chapter 1

Title: Clan Wars

Author: WingedPanther73

Pairing(s)/Characters:

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Sybil was complaining about inane vampire/Gundam Wing stories that are out there. This is my retaliation.

Warnings: None.

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing, its names and characters belong to Bandai/Sunrise.

Beta Reader: Sybil Rowan

Chapter 1

Lieutenant Zechs and his wing-mates were cruising in a scout mission, keeping an eye out for problems in their sector. "Do you see that?"

"See what, corporal?"

"That shooting star." Zechs looked in the direction indicated. Indeed, something was falling, and fast. It looked like a one man re-entry capsule, the type used for emergency evacuations in space.

"We'll intercept and see who's on board." The three soldiers changed course to intercept. As they approached the landing site, they saw an individual exit the craft, carefully. "Be careful, he could be part of Operation M."

"Understood, sir!" With that, the two corporals advanced, rifles drawn. The boy climbing out of the capsule, looked at them and laughed. "Hands up! You have landed in a restricted area."

"I think I'll take your guns, instead." With that, the boy moved with blinding speed, grabbing the throats of the corporals and tearing them out. He licked their blood off his hands. "You've seen too much. You will die."

Zechs bared his fangs. "I'm not as weak as these two." He dodged to the side, firing on the aggressive boy as he did so. The bullets struck home, but the flesh wounds started healing almost as soon as they were ripped open. When the boy fired back with a confiscated gun, Zechs was forced to retreat. He couldn't face that kind of regeneration.

Zechs called his base unit as he took to the air. "Life Clan spotted on earth. We need to be on the alert." As he retreated, he saw the boy finish draining the corpses of his former wing-mates.

* * *

Colonel Treize took the news of the loss of two, inexperienced members of the Earth Clan with grace. It was more annoying to deal with the humans of the Earth Sphere Alliance, who didn't realize the true nature of the EC elite troops. Despite the humans' weakness, the sheer volume of them left on Earth meant revealing EC's plans too early would be imprudent.

He accepted the abuse of General Septum with good grace. The general was mortal, after all, and Treize had been maneuvering for decades. Romefeller was moving.

While the general proceeded to discuss his plans to destabilize the colonies, Treize discretely monitored the news of attacks on EC installations. Garlic grenades and flamethrowers wielded by a member of the Iron Clan. Reflected bullets from a member of the Warp Clan, an army of ghouls lead by a member of the Slaver Clan, and an inferno of obliteration under a member of the Dragon Clan. All things considered, it was fortunate that Zechs had not been annihilated.

* * *

Relena Dorlan was disturbed. She had successfully mesmerized every member of her class into adoring her. She wasn't clear on how she'd done it, but it made her happy to be adored.

The new boy, however, was being difficult. She had welcomed him as politely, and charmingly, as possible, and found that the harmonics in her voice had no impact on him. He didn't event glance at her.

Then, she had invited him to her birthday. He had not only resisted the command to come, but had actually torn up the invitation. Now, staring at him, she could only will him to submit to her wonderfulness.

"I'm going to kill you, dhampire" Her eyes widened in shock.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It suited her purposes to test Heero. Relena chose her most faithful servant, Toby, to duel with him in fencing class. The boy was fast and strong, yet Heero seemed to be unconcerned, as he moved with blinding speed to disarm the lad. Heero made Toby appear weak and sluggish. It was not promising. What had meant by "dhampire", anyway?

* * *

Duo adjusted the crucifix around his neck and offered a short prayer to the Virgin Mary and Saint Joan, asking that they intercede on his behalf. He was grateful he had been adopted into the Iron Clan, so that he could continue to practice his faith. He would have to get some fresh garlic soon, though. With his prayers complete, he picked the all vampire unit and advanced, his flamethrowers at the ready.

He was under strict orders to inflict as much damage as possible on the EC as possible. The fact that they were burrowed into the Earth Sphere Alliance forces made things more interesting. Killing humans served no purpose, other than possibly securing the EC's influence on the Alliance. As the young Reverend Maxwell advanced, he thanked Joan of Arc for her protection in the battle to come.

"There he is! Get him!"

Duo raised his arms, loops of garlic draped around them, and unleashed the inferno. The ghouls recoiled from the flames in fear, and their masters had to whip them to rush forth again. Some made it into the fire, but recoiled from the stench of garlic and his crucifix. Their hesitation cost them their lives. Soon, the ghouls were so much charred meat.

"Why not come for me yourselves? Your dogs are too weak! Or should I just bring the Angel of Death to you all?"

A second wave of ghouls approached; these were armored, and fired machine guns at him. Duo retaliated with special grenades, aimed over their heads at their useless masters. Blessed garlic oil splashed into the ranks of the EC as they exploded, incapacitating them and giving the ghouls the break they needed to flee. As the EC writhed in pain, Duo bathed them in fire, inducting them into the furnace, personally.

* * *

Trowa faced down the lion without fear. In the worst case, the space between its jaws would grow faster than it could bite. The lion showed sense. It knew a superior predator when it saw one, and subjected itself to this being.

* * *

"Refreshments for you, Master Quatre."

"Thank you. So, it's Rasid's turn to quench my thirst, is it?"

"Indeed, sir. We live to serve you, as always."

"Thank you. I appreciate that you don't fight that. It has strengthened our Maganac Corps, don't you think?"

"Indeed, sir." Rasid tipped his head to one side, exposing his throat for his Master's snack.

* * *

Toby brought Relena disturbing news just as it was time to open her presents. He had seen Heero headed towards the marina in a van. There was no telling what he was up to, but she had to find out who he was.

It was disturbing that her fans wanted to interrupt her research. She had to speak forcefully to get them to stay put. Even her mother had almost seemed ready to rebel against her will. As Relena arrived at the dock, she saw him preparing torpedoes (she had studied them in school!), and aiming them at an elite submarine.

"Heero, it's time to stop this! Come to my party at once!"

"I don't think so." He bared his fangs. "Today, you die."

Suddenly, the stench of garlic assailed her nose. She had always hated it, but Heero recoiled even worse. Some sort of priest kid had arrived.

"Now that wouldn't be very kind. I'm afraid you'll have to die, Earth Clan."

Relena found the garlic's odor nauseating, but she could see that it was painful to her future conquest.

"Stop it! Get away from him!"

"What is your problem, lady?"

Suddenly, Heero launched himself at the boy, who swung up a flamethrower and engulfed her greatest conquest to-be in flames.

"No! You killed him!"

The priest kid stared at Heero. "He's not dead! He must not be Earth Clan..."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Major Po carefully analyzed the young looking vampire. Given that he'd been exposed to fire, he was in great shape. As it was, his regenerative powers were having difficulty restoring his skin. He was headed quickly towards torpor, and would likely expire if not provided with blood, and soon.

The encryption on the disk was another problem. He wasn't just some rebellious Life Clan, who had hitched a ride to Earth to cause trouble. He was up to something. The fact that he had taken out a large EC submarine was proof enough of that.

The real question was, should she allow him to die, feed him, and risk unknown problems, or attempt something else? Her ghoul assistant was showing his usual lack of insight, as always. These things were difficult.

* * *

Wufei Chang, level 5 master of the Dragon Clan, was annoyed. He had gorged on civilians as he made his way to the EC base. Blood had threatened to leak from his eyes, so when he reached the base, the ineffective response of the guards was appalling. Chang had lit up almost as soon as he arrived, sending courses of fire around the periphery of the base, then driving it inward in a glorious inferno!

To think that the vulnerable Earth Clan, with all the explosives at hand, had no effective way to combat a large fire, was quite irritating. Change razed the base to the ground, in disgust.

* * *

Heero contemplated his situation. It would be inadvisable to heal his skin, even though it would take so little. To advertise his true condition while a captive would be stupid. Fortunately, the monitors clearly showed that he appeared to be unconscious. That allowed him to test the strength of his bonds.

It seemed they weren't used to keeping a skilled Life Clan member. They would do for an EC brat, but he could snap his bonds when the time was right. What was more important was to listen for the right moment.

That idiot priest was on the monitor, mouthing something about a rescue. Great. First, fry him, then save him? What kind of a moron had Iron sent down here? With Heero's luck, the fool would forget to take off his crucifix and garlic, causing more harm than good.

The inept brat decided on explosives to break in! With the timing forced on him, Heero augmented his muscle and bone strength. With a sudden surge, he snapped the left wrist restraint, while the idiot tried to figure out how to "release" them. He freed his right arm immediately after, and was soon free.

"How did you do that?"

"Did you bring me lunch?"

"Grab a bite on our way out, this place is crawling with Earth."

They ran for it, draining a convenient ghoul on the way. Iron blew out a window and they both jumped. Why he thought Heero would want a parachute was beyond him. Fifty stories would smart, but it wasn't a big deal. Heero landed hard, as he heard the annoying voice of Relena calling for him from above.

"Why didn't you use the parachute?"

"It would have slowed me down."

"Man, I'm the only friend you've got, right now!"

"With friends like these..."

* * *

Zechs was pleased to arrive at the Corsica factory, to oversee the manufacture of advanced weapons. The Specials were nearby, growing their numbers by "infecting" promising recruits from regular units and bringing them into the Clan.

Officer Walker led Zechs to a secret base, where they were working on analyzing the gene sequences of the vampiric virus. They were trying to find a way to reconcile the strengths of each of the Clans, while not introducing their respective weaknesses as well.

They had come up with some impressive results, including drugs that would reduce the rate at which sunlight burned through blood, moisteners that would reduce the flammability of dessicated vampiric flesh, and several other things. Nothing, unfortunately, was permanent. The recent attacks were making it clear, however, that they would need to ramp up production of these drugs, and find a more permanent solution. If the EC could gain the resistance of Iron, for example, it would make them unstoppable!

* * *

Commander Bonaparte was pleased to show off his military authority, and authorized his blimp to take off. When the lone gunman attacked, he was almost amused. "Attack! Surround him and kill him! I want his corpse!"

The soldiers, including a few specials, began their assault on the lone gunman, who had the uncanny ability to get head shots almost every time. Combined with this, was a strange ability to evade the counter fire.

Soon, the troops had the man surround, and they all opened fire. The impressive smoke from firing weapons soon dissipated, revealing a lone man at the center of the smoke. Bonaparte gave the order to flee, even as the gunman proceded to annihilate the remaining troops in close combat. Video footage showed soldiers and specials attacking him with bayonets and failing to connect. Just as it seemed they had him surrounded, more enemy troops arrived.

The lone gunman was rescued. But by whom? All military defending the Corsica factory were annihilated.

* * *

No-name and the blond vampire gazed at each other, assessing their respective strengths. On one hand, the blond had over forty men surrounding him. No-name, on the other hand, was surrounded by something that resembled heat waves, or similar optical distortions.

No-name had long since run out of bullets. He threw an experimental dagger at the opposing vampire, and noted how three men, perhaps ghouls, moved between him and his target.

"Stop! You were attacking our target! We're not enemies. Can't you recognize my clan?"

No-name considered. "They're all ghouls, aren't they?"

"Yes."

"Order one to kill himself."

"Faisal. Do it."

A ghoul picked up the thrown dagger and slashed his own throat. As blood coursed down his chest, he remained standing long enough to disembowel himself, and stab his heart. He soon expired.

"I haven't seen a Slaver Clan before."

"Nor I a Warp Clan."

"Good enough."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Zechs was frustrated. He had a large supply of the drugs from Corsica, but the rebuilding process would be lengthy. There was no telling how much damage had been done. He was pleased when he got a call from Noin, at Victoria base. It was pleasant flirting with the sexy minx again.

* * *

Noin commenced training her troops for space combat. Her EC units were extraordinarily clumsy in zero-G simulations. Most of them had never been in space, due to the need to keep fresh soil with them. It was enough of a logistics nightmare to transport native soil around the globe, as it was. Trying to keep steady supplies in space would have been nearly impossible.

While Noin rebuked her clumsy troops, she thought of the last time she had seen Zechs, and wondered if, this time, he would consent to create a new pureblood with her.

* * *

Zechs was concerned that the Dragon Clan might be headed for Noin's training camp at Lake Victoria. He hoped he wouldn't have to expend any of the precious drugs to deal with the firestorm that appeared to be heading her way.

* * *

Noin felt the stirring in the roots of her fangs. The desire to gorge on blood, in preparation for the creation of a new vampire, was deep within her. The heir to the Peacecraft name was coming back to her. She would do anything for him, even put off her desires. Her fangs ached for the bloodlust she had never subjected herself to.

The next day, the most successful of her troops were inducted into vampirehood. The failures were the first food the new vampires ate. No human could know the true nature of the Specials.

When Zechs arrived, the opportunity to share a drink with him was rewarding. Unfortunately, he brought news of an impending attack. The sexual tension was unbearable, yet subtle.

* * *

Wufei smelled the odd mix of human and vampire that marked recent converts. This many fresh converts would be weak. He turned their dormitory into an inferno.

As he left, he was pursued by a lone soldier with a sniper rifle. At one point, she shot out the tires of his bike. She held him covered. It was annoying, but he couldn't easily torch her at this range. Instead, he deployed his flash grenades to lose her, then struck back with a jet of fire. He didn't see how much damage he did, unfortunately.

* * *

Noin was fortunate, she had taken an anti-desiccant, and wasn't killed by the blast, though severely injured. The pain was too much for her to interfere with the boy as he took a surface-to-air missile and destroyed one of the fleeing troop carriers. She had lost so many troops, today.

"You are weak. You don't deserve to call yourself a soldier." With those words, the boy left, and Noin groaned in pain.

* * *

"Hey, you!" No response. "Why won't you even acknowledge me? I _did_ rescue you, after all. Remember me? Mister Nice Guy?"

"I don't want your assistance."

"You need my help." Duo started mumbling to himself. "Why did I even bother? Stupid guy practically kills himself every chance he gets."

"Hey!"

"Yeah?" Duo looked up expectantly.

"Can you keep it down? I'm trying to think, here." He should have known.

Suddenly, Heero got a message indicating he needed to take out an enemy carrier. He was still barely in one piece, had no weapons, almost no blood left, but he claimed he would deal with it the next day. "How are you going to do that? Not even you can shrug off wounds forever!"

"That's what you think. I'm not as weak as you."

"Well excuse me, mister super-vampire."

* * *

General Septum was annoyed. He was getting reports from Treize that these attacks were being conducted by some sort of super-soldiers. Meanwhile, his advisors couldn't decide whether they should pursue peace, or attack the colonies that had sent them. Vice Foreign Minister Dorlan had the audacity to claim the military was the problem. He had to be thrown out.

* * *

Lady Une smiled as she ministered to Master Treize in his bath. He was pleased with her report. Better yet, he entrusted her to address the pesky human, Dorlan. It made her canines ache with the desire for bloodlust, to hear such praise from Master Treize. Despite that, she could never show her desire. She would obey his wishes.

* * *

Duo was amazed. Heero showed no signs of dessication, weakness, nothing! His cheeks were pink and flushed with health! It was a miraculous recovery. "That guy is amazing!"

"Come quick, we've been attacked!"

Duo ran to the storage house. The ghouls were laid out in a neat row, each one drained to the edge of life. "Heero! You bastard! You can't deprive all of us of our food here!"

Not long after, they heard the news of the carrier being shot down by a dozen portable surface-to-air missiles. Heero had run, carrying them all.

* * *

Quatre and Trowa enjoyed the chance to play music, while Quatre's ghouls attended to their every need. His ghouls didn't trust Trowa, but they didn't have a choice.

* * *

Noin was irritated to be rescued by Zechs. It was embarrassing.

* * *

Wufei was irritated to be harassed by such a weak fool. It was annoying.


	5. Chapter 5

[AN: I just realized I was misspelling "Darlian". My apologies.]

Chapter 5

Relena found it odd that she was being dragged back to a colony with her father. It was always vaguely uncomfortable being away from Earth. What was worse, there was an unpleasant smell coming off a Specials officer who was traveling on the shuttle with them. She could sense the hostility her father had for this woman.

Relena made certain she wouldn't forget the smell of someone who upset her father.

When they landed on the colony, Relena was shocked to find out that there were rumors of an attack on Earth being planned. It seemed her father was there to discourage such rash actions, politically, while the Specials officer was there to conduct her own investigation.

It was horrible to think that anyone would want to attack Earth. They shouldn't be fighting. There was no purpose to it. Perhaps if she talked with these diplomats, she could coerce them as she had her friends at school. Relena intended to help her father, and prove that she was a useful asset to him. Despite that conviction, however, she was sure that the representatives her father was talking with were sincere in their denial of hostile intentions.

Why did she always feel so drained when away from Earth?

* * *

Lady Une found herself being evicted from the meeting, precisely according to plan. Treize had made certain she would not have any form of diplomatic authorization. She needed a reason to leave Mr. Darlian after being in the room with him. It was important to increase the tension between the Earth Sphere and the colonies.

As she left the building, she left her compact behind. Everything was going according to plan. She was eager for this mission to be over, so she could return to her hotel and rest on her cache of soil. Being away from it was a constant irritant.

Fifteen more seconds and she could return to her hotel room. Twelve. "Ma'am, I believe you forgot this." THE BOMB! She launched the compact at the meeting window with all her strength, adrenaline pumping into her exalted body, triggering an instinctive blood burn that let her shatter the window.

"Father!" The girl had run off! That wouldn't do. "Bring her back!" Between soil deprivation, and the close call with the bomb, Lady Une needed to rest.

* * *

As Relena rushed to her father's side, she was relieved to discover that he was still alive. What surprised her was the presence of ruffians with guns. Suddenly, Specials soldiers burst in and opened fire, but were forced back by return fire.

Relena was dragged off, along with her father. It was infuriating. They refused to take her father to a hospital. She only calmed down when her father spoke to her. He was so weak, though. "Don't speak, father. You're too weak."

"Relena, I'm not your biological father."

"What?"

"You're Relena Peacecraft, daughter of the Family that believed in total pacifism. I served your family as a senator, before the Alliance destroyed it. Watch out for the EC!"

With that, he died, and Relena collapsed.

* * *

"Everything's set."

Duo looked back at the balding vampire. "Thanks, pal. I owe you one."

"I know getting a fresh supply of blood, without raising suspicion, can be tricky for an outsider."

"Hey, I didn't have a chance to study human trafficking at divinity school." Duo followed Howard inside, and gazed at the humans chained to the wall. "Where'd you find them, anyway?"

"Trade secret. Black market connections are hard to get, and very valuable."

Duo nodded, then contemplated which person his lunch would come from.

* * *

Wufei hated missions against ships. Swimming was extremely obnoxious.

* * *

Relena came to, just in time to see her father covered by the sheet. Meanwhile, the Specials bitch was claiming her captors had caused the explosion. Supposedly, Relena had been captured by terrorists.

One of them, at least, had the decency to apologize for what had happened. Anger flared within her. She grabbed the gun from his waistband and retreated. "I'll kill her. I'll kill them all! It was the EC, right?"

She expected them to stay back, but instead all three men scowled at her. "You don't know what you're dealing with, do you, girl?"

Relena was startled by their lack of fear. "I'm not afraid to die. Heero's already promised me death."

"Heero?" The voice behind her provided the distraction the three men needed to subdue her. Relena was captured, but the shock of what she saw prevented her from resisting. The man had braces on his legs, his left arm was an interwoven mess of metal with flesh grown over it. What disturbed her, and shocked her, were the blazing red eyes and long fangs under his shaggy gray hair. "You've met Heero Yuy, have you?"

* * *

Noin watched as Zechs took in Lady Une's performance. It was a shame that the Vice Minister had needed removal. It was clear, however, that Zechs' real concern was Relena's safety. His pulse had flickered slightly when he saw that she was on the colony with the diplomat.

It was a shame he refused to admit it, even to her. Noin wanted nothing more than to be a shelter for Zechs' heart. Of all the vampires on Earth, Zechs was the one she would give her unlife for.

* * *

Heero always enjoyed taking out an enemy facility. He had drained twenty humans to ensure he had an adequate supply of blood for this battle. He burned almost all of it to accelerate his reflexes, speed, and damage resistance as he slaughtered the EC soldiers.

There was nothing as thrilling as slaughtering the wolves.

* * *

Relena sat next to the strange... man?.. as they traveled in the car. "You can call me Dr. J. I'm a highly educated vampire."

"Why did you send Heero to Earth?"

"We'll get to that later. How's the rascal doing?"

"He's hurt people! Why would you send someone like him to Earth?"

"He's acting on orders. My orders."

"What?"

"Since we made him a vampire, we've trained him in the skills needed to overcome those that remained on Earth."

"Why would you do such a thing?" Relena was struck by horror, both at what Heero had done, and at what had been done to him.

"For our peace and protection, of course!"

"That's insane! How is death going to lead to peace?"

"When vampires find the quest for power too hazardous, they abandon it every time. We value our immortality, or don't you know that yet, little dhampire?"

"Surely there are peaceful ways to the same end!"

"Girl, when we left the Earth, we thought we were ending the wars. It didn't work. We've had peace for over a hundred years, but the Earth Clan is greedy for power. Our power. They would use us a lab rats for their advancement, and we won't have that. This isn't about petty human wars that you studied in school, but something far more sinister. This is war between the Clans, for complete access to all humans.

"Twenty years ago, the Space Clans united under one leader, Heero Yuy. We presented a unified front against the various nations of the Earth Clan. He posed a threat, which resulted in his assassination. The Earth Clan was behind it. They want to unify while separating us."

"And you sent Heero to wage war on them?"

"It is necessary. He volunteered, for all our sakes."

* * *

Heero worked his way to the center of the base, the perimeter in ruins, when he suddenly smelled the stench of garlic. Garlic? In the center of a vampire outpost? It couldn't be. He turned towards the stench.

"Looks like we got the same target. Thanks for softening them up for me!"

Heero gazed towards Duo with an expression of pure hatred.

* * *

Dr. J dropped her off at the consulate.

"Why did you help me?"

"You remind me of Heero. He's a kind, gentle boy."

"I believe it."

"Stay away from him. He kills anything that gets in his way."

Somehow, it made perfect sense.

* * *

Duo realized he was in trouble when Heero moved abruptly, pulling the trigger on his machine gun. The expression and amount of fire made him think he might actually die.

The vampire behind him collapsed, dead.

"Now we're even."

"Damn you!"

* * *

As Relena returned to Earth, she wondered what it would mean to be of the Peacecraft family, a family she'd never heard of before. "I miss you, Father."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Relena was upset. Reporters hounded her, trying to find out what she thought of the "assassination", and she'd now been called a "dhampire" twice within a few weeks. On top of it all, her father had claimed she was really "Relena Peacecraft", not his real daughter. She'd never even heard of the Peacecraft family!

When she denied her father had said anything, it seemed like her mother was ready to repeat the horrible lie. "Mother! You're always by my mother!" She willed with all her might that her mother would take this as a command, not a wish. It seemed to work, as her mother stopped trying to speak and simply hugged her.

* * *

Lady Une was quite upset. Despite her efforts, Relena Darlian had managed to slip through her net and return to Earth. While it did allow her to return to Earth, as well, she was unable to return to her native soil, and be at Master Treize's side.

It was her intention to address the "Relena issue" herself, but Treize insisted that she take five guards as well. "You think one of the other clans will interfere?"

"I don't know, but it would be wise to be certain the issue is resolved."

"Yes, sir!" Lady Une wasn't sure whether she wanted to show these upstarts what the EC could do, or not. Every attack they had launched, so far, had been against EC troops within the Alliance forces. Worse, every attack had been devastating. Lady Une, however, was a powerful and skilled warrior.

* * *

Heero had already spent too much time at St. Gabriel Institute. It was time to for him to move on.

* * *

Relena found her minions annoying. She had spent the last two days pondering the meaning of her father's life's work, and why he had been killed. It was obvious that the mysterious group called "EC", of which Lady Une was clearly a member, had found him a threat to their plans.

She had taken that time to look up the Peacecraft family. It seemed they had been some sort of aristocrats not long ago, and very influential in local politics. They had disappeared under mysterious circumstances, leaving behind a mansion and legacy of seeking global peace and local autonomy.

While their disappearance had been quite suspicious, there was no real evidence for what had actually happened to the family. It seemed there had been no real investigation, either. It was fairly clear that her father had, indeed, continued to pursue the Peacecraft ideals, seeking to keep peace and autonomy among the nations of Earth and the various colonies.

As such, Relena was coming to terms with the reality that her father had made powerful enemies, and died in a political battle she hadn't been aware of. Her father had been doing something she could be proud of. Now, her minions were depressed. How annoying.

"Why would you not want to be at this party? My father worked hard so we could enjoy parties like this. Would you rob him of the fruits of his life's work?"

"I'm sorry, Relena, I didn't think of it that way."

At that moment, a rumor went through the crowd that Heero was transferring out of the school.

"Excuse me, my friends. I need to check something."

"Of course. You inspire us, Relena."

Relena rushed to Heero's room. Dr. J had provided her with quite a few questions about the only person who had ever resisted her charms, much less threatened her. It was clear he was being sent away from her.

"Off on another mission, are you, Heero?" She saw him visibly stiffen. "So, who will you kill this time?"

He whipped around, a small pistol pointed at her heart. For some reason, she no longer felt intimidated by him. She approached him with confidence. "I met Dr. J while I was on the colony." The gun dropped as his face registered shock, then raised again.

"So, you don't know everything. I wonder why he didn't tell you we met? Do all vampires lose the ability to hide their fangs, or does he just like to flaunt them?" Heero's eyes narrowed dangerously. She thought his fangs might be extending, but wasn't sure.

"I see. We're the only ones not at the party. If you kill me, you'll be wanted and won't be able to move as freely. It would be better if you came down, with me, and had one last dance before you left." The only sign that she'd made an impact on him was the lessened tension on the trigger of his gun. She considered that good enough, curtsied, and left.

For once, she had scored a point on Heero.

* * *

Wufei lay quietly in the aircraft carrier, as it slipped into harbor. The specials had allowed him to drift into dock, unchallenged. When he was close enough to leap off the water-borne torture chamber they called a ship, he unleashed an inferno born of the blood of the entire crew barely contained in his flesh. The ship detonated, blowing him onto the dock. From there, he promptly released the rest of the blood fire, releasing an inferno in the shipyards.

"You let your enemy into dock too easily. You've grown complacent in your power. Now learn to fear your enemy!" The relief of being away from water was almost wonderful as the thrill of burning everything in sight.

* * *

Trowa placed the half-mask on his face as the circus master berated Catherine, inside. Something about him being late. The complaint was absurd, of course. Trowa had fifty-seven seconds left before they needed to be in front of the crowd.

At thirty-six seconds before the show, he entered the tent. He stood next to Catherine, and caught a whiff of her monthly cycle. A shock ran through him, even as he informed the circus master that he was not, in fact, late. Catherine's blood was the same as his. He could smell it.

As they advanced into the ring, Trowa spread his arms on the target and awaited her daggers. It was almost boring. She was a talented knife thrower, and had no interest in hitting him. As situations went, the only hard part was not flinching when each dagger thunked into the wood next to him.

"Look a little scared. Otherwise I won't have any fun, my little doll." Clearly, most of her targets were more concerned than he about the possibility of being hit. The odd thing was, he wasn't sure she could hurt him significantly, even if she wanted to. A dagger to the heart would be inconvenient, but hardly life-threatening. He just couldn't help being bored.

His impassiveness seemed to throw her off. He heard her speculate that he desired death. An intriguing idea, but hardly the case. He planned to have a pleasant conversation with Death when she came for him. That didn't mean he couldn't wait a bit to have that chat.

Catherine's final throw reflected how shaken she was by the concept. It was the perfect chance to give the crowd a sick thrill. Trowa tweaked the path of the dagger, ensuring it nicked his ear. He didn't flinch, since he was the one drawing his own blood. It freaked out Catherine, but it was unclear whether the crowd even noticed.

After they left the stage, Trowa decided to relax next to the lion he had befriended. "Trowa! Why didn't you dodge?"

"How would that have thrilled the crowd?"

"You mustn't take your life so lightly?"

"I assure you, Catherine, I don't."

She sighed, apparently giving up. "You could at least smile while you're out there. You're a good looking guy, you know, and I'm not just saying that." If she knew she was flattering her own brother, her own blood, she might not have been so flip. "Oh! I almost forgot! I'm sorry I hit you, Trowa."

"It wasn't your fault." Her skill was so good, that she wouldn't have hit him, had he not interfered. He found that he had to leave. She didn't know he could smell her, and he didn't want to attack his sister.

"Trowa, how about that smile?" Trowa would show someone else his smile, tonight.

* * *

Heero found himself dancing with Relena in his arms. He wasn't sure whether it was annoying to be maneuvered into this by the scheming dhampire, or pleasant. Then she opened her mouth.

"Heero, I know too much. Are you still going to kill me?" Well, now that she asked...

"Yeah." The obnoxious cow. He'd been enjoying the music and then she had to remind him she's a threat.

"I used to not want to die without knowing what was going on. Now, I know how you feel when you fight. That's enough." He was tempted to laugh.

There was no way she could know the thrill of pushing an exalted body beyond its limits, and holding it together through sheer willpower. She probably hadn't even extended her fangs yet. How could she know the thrill of draining your enemies dry, and using it to fuel the next foe's death? She didn't know anything.

"And now, I'm fighting at your side."

"With me?" Huh? She wanted to help him, now?

Suddenly, he heard motion outside the grounds of the school. There was virtually no security, here. Whoever was coming, couldn't be planning anything good. He ran to arm himself.

* * *

Lady Une was eager to see the slaughter commence. As long as Relena died, civilian casualties were acceptable. "Engage all targets. This will be reported as another terrorist attack."

Her captain looked back at her with a concerned expression. "I don't know. These are defenseless humans."

"Do you want to be replaced?"

"No, Ma'am!"

"Then go feast! We rarely get a chance to enjoy the bloodlust we all suppress!"

Lady Une sat back as the five vampires began their offensive. As they advanced, they heard a rustling noise and a muffled cry. They were now a four man team. They turned on the boy who was draining their rear guard, eyes blazing with bloodlust.

They immediately opened fire on the boy and their fallen comrade, alerting the humans to their presence. When the boy started firing an RPG back at them, they were forced to retreat towards the school. They could hear screams from behind them.

They began firing machine guns, striking him repeatedly. The boy grinned at them, undeterred, his wounds healing almost as fast as they were inflicted. "He's a Life Clan! What's he doing here?"

"Lady Une! There's a Life Clan here, defending the humans!" Treize had predicted as much. Her vitals monitors showed one soldier was already down. The other four would not be able to stand.

"Send in all available troops! Capture him alive!"

"Yes, Ma'am!"

* * *

Quatre monitored the attacks on Specials facilities. Given the number of attacks he had made, it seemed unlikely that Trowa was responsible for all the others. He suspected there was a representative of each Clan from the colonies. He hoped he'd be able to meet them all.

* * *

The guys were enjoying a drink off the new 'beverages'. "These are good ones."

"Nothing like a relaxing drink, after a job well done."

Duo was glad they were having fun, but he was content to gaze at the moon. He supposed the atmosphere was what made it look different.

"Hey Duo, what's up?"

Duo looked over at Howard. "Just enjoying the moon. I think this is the perfect view of it."

"It's a beaut, all right."

"I wonder if that guy has the sense to enjoy the moon? He spends too much time trying to outsmart me. I wonder what he's doing."

* * *

Heero charged another vampire, ripping out his throat. He didn't bother to savor the blood as he attacked yet another. The last died moments later.

He had a chance to get back to the school, and found himself face to face with Relena. He knew his fangs were visible, and he licked some blood off his lips self-consciously. Something about the situation confused him.

Part of him wanted attack her and drain her. She was annoying. She knew too much. She was dangerous. Part of him wanted to finish turning her, making her a full-fledged vampire of the Life Clan. She might even be able to produce fang nubs, and open his throat herself. She gazed at him, shocked, but with no sign of fear in her eyes.

Suddenly, the whine of a missile sounded as it passed overhead to the wall over Relena. Reflex took over. The blood burn fired, and Heero dashed forward, knocking Relena out of the way of falling brickwork. He took several blows to his spine as the masonry came down on him. He forced himself upright, again, and stared at Relena in shock.

What was he doing? For her to die would be ideal. Shots slammed into his back, and he covered Relena protectively, wanting to drain her for the regenerative blood he was craving, yet overwhelmed with the need to shelter her.

The bloodlust rose steadily. More shots were fired. The bloodlust became unbearable. Her throat was in front of him, pulse throbbing. More shots were fired.

Heero spun, eyes bloodred as he flew at the gunman, ripping his throat out and sucking his Life from him. He felt the body in his arms slowly dessicate as the flow slowed down, and he found himself having to suck to remove the last drops. As he lifted his face, the body fell, mummified.

* * *

Lady Une's eyes blazed with hatred. She prepared to launch herself at the obstacle. She must slaughter the Darlian girl.

"Treize is on the line."

His face appeared before her. It was serene. "I'm canceling the mission."

"What!"

"I'm going to let her live."

"But the mission was to kill her!"

"Lady, we were met with a Life Clan. A well-trained Life Clan. I do not wish to lose you. Come home."

Lady Une's emotions soothed as she heard the affection in his voice. "I understand."

* * *

Treize switched to the line where Noin had been listening.

"Thank you, Colenel Treize. Zechs will be very pleased."

"Zechs has always been very loyal to me. Saving his half-sister for him is a minor favor in return. Give him my regards."

"Yes, Sir!"

Treize contemplated the consequences of this. There had always been speculation that there were Peacecrafts about, but now he knew there was a second. This had the potential to completely change everything. He would have to this very quiet. As far as he knew, Noin was the only other person aware of the situation, and she was completely loyal to Zechs.

He wondered when Zechs would relent to Noin's desire.

* * *

Relena stared at the creature she had known as Heero. She had accepted, intellectually, that he was a vampire. The fangs hadn't even phased her. Now, for the first time, she understood how completely inhuman he truly was.

"Why did you save me? Weren't you going to kill me?" She knew she shouldn't ask such a dangerous creature such questions. He could, and she couldn't stop him. Part of her wanted to die, rather than know what he was. Part of her wanted him to answer, so he would start to seem human again.

He turned his attention fully to her. She had the chance to see him up close. His eyes were not just red, but a dark crimson. His fangs were not just passively present, but long, and very sharp. She couldn't read his expression. She was uncertain whether she would die or not. Her only chance was to get him to acknowledge her.

Relena didn't flinch from his gaze as he stalked towards her. She could see that his nails had lengthened as well, and the muscles in his arms were writhing with power. His hand snapped onto her throat, and she could feel the pulse in her neck against his thumb as his nails pricked her neck.

She gazed at him unflinchingly. She would live or die, now. With speed she couldn't follow, he ran into the woods around the school and disappeared. As she realized she would live, she also knew she had lost him. "Please don't run from me, Heero."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Treize smiled as he read Lady Une's report. The efforts to create the appearance of a massive meeting of Specials top brass were completed. Large numbers of empty aircraft and shuttles had arrived at New Edwards Base. That, combined with the rumors she had spread, should be sufficient to attract the other clans' assassins.

Zechs was far away in Nairobi. He would be the senior Specials officer in the area, and key to handling anything that might happen there. He contemplated the plan they were working towards. Waiting for the Alliance to create a one world government, and a single homeland for all people, was proving futile. Humans just couldn't seem to get past their petty squabbles for the greater good. It was time the Earth Clan to stop waiting for the humans to give them what they needed. Shipping dirt around the globe was silly, and would soon be unnecessary.

* * *

Heero looked at the readout about his new mission. "Mission accepted."

* * *

The circus master broke into Catherine's trailer. "Trowa's disappeared again!"

Catherine had long since given up on any sense of privacy in circus life. She continued grinding her coffee, not bothering to try to find a shirt to cover her bra. "Yes, but he said he'd be back shortly."

"He's unreliable! Anyone else would be fired for such behavior!"

Catherine smiled. "But he's too good."

"Make him break a sweat, this time! Scare that brat, but good!" He stomped back out of the trailer.

Catherine returned to grinding her coffee, her heart troubled by the fickle behavior of her favorite target.

* * *

Quatre held his forehead in the palm of his hand. There were advantages and disadvantages to perfectly obedient ghouls. On one hand, he didn't have to worry about the sorts of back talk other Clans dealt with. On the other hand, they could be mindlessly obedient. He sometimes had to loosen his control just to get intelligent behavior out of them.

His most recent command had been, "Arm up, everyone!" with the force in the command brooking no argument. Unfortunately, it had two interpretations. Staring at forty ghouls with one arm straight up in the air was annoying, to say the least.

"Put your arms down, and grab your weapons, guys. We need to get ready, fast!" Giving precise, unambiguous orders was an art. He was glad he wasn't a programmer.

* * *

Trowa gazed across the ferry at a familiar group of motley looking men, and one teenager. He sighed, slightly, as Quatre waved at him. "Hey, Trowa. What a coincidence meeting you, here!"

"I see you have your bodyguard with you." How could that twerp maintain any semblance of subtlety when he had to lead around a troop of burly men just to be at full fighting strength?

"Yes, well, would you like to coordinate your activities with me?"

"I'm doing this alone."

"Two's better than one."

Trowa strode away from forty-one. He didn't need a bunch of mindless ghouls getting in his way.

* * *

Heero broke into the private airport and started commandeering a small private jet. He started the preflight checks, and found that the door he had just closed was ajar. Exiting the cockpit, he was assailed by the odor of garlic. "Duo, get that shit in the storage compartment!"

"Oh, sorry. Hey, have you loaded up your equipment yet?"

How had the little punk managed to find the plane he was stealing? He couldn't decide whether to shoot him in the head, or just pick a different plane and cut the fuel lines on this one.

"Tell you what, I'll finish up the prep while you stow your weapons."

The brat might be useful on the long flight. "Do what you want, but next time, keep that shit in ziploc bags." His eyes were watering as he broke for fresh air.

He charged back in when he heard Duo start praying. "And don't you DARE bless this plane!"

"Oh, right. Sorry."

* * *

Duo was seriously psyched about this mission. With one blow, they could decapitate the EC, setting back their bid for power for decades! The annoying thing was that Heero seemed to be quiet and irritable, as if this might be a problem.

"When we knock these guys out, I'm going to be able to return to space." He couldn't wait to get back to his church, and resume preparing sermons for his congregation. He smiled in anticipation.

* * *

Treize and Lady Une observed the ceremonies as the various Alliance leaders arrived. Lady Une had done her job well. The rumors were quiet, but easy enough to dig up if you looked for them. The bait should be at just the right level to entice the assassins to come out.

Treize smiled as he watched Field Marshall Noventa shake hands with Generals Septum and Ventei. They shook hand politely. Noventa seemed pleased at the prospects of a productive meeting. Septum seemed dour, as usual. Ventei appeared bored. He always preferred to supervise his troops over engaging in politics.

Treize suspected that if they slaughtered all of them, he might be able to safely give in to Une's desires. Unfortunately, that task had to be reserved for the assassins. The Romefeller Foundation was counting on him to successfully strike.

Lady Une whispered in his ear. "Don't they look delicious, sir?"

"Indeed. We must curb our thirst, however. The future will soon be revealed, if we can show patience."

"The future is yours, sir." Treize could feel her barely touching him. It was a violation of protocol, but he allowed her this moment. There was much he denied her, but he was quite fond of his assistant.

* * *

Zechs sat next to Noin as they approached the Nairobi base with several troop carriers. It was annoying, having to be indirect with the base. For now, his craft were "practicing maneuvers". Later, there would be no practice.

It was a pleasure to have Noin at his side, but the recent loss she had suffered could affect her state of mind. "Noin, this battle may be upsetting to you."

"You've said this is a necessary battle. I will fight at your side." Of course, she had always been prepared to assist him in any way. Noin was always clear on that. His nose told him that she would give him anything he desired, but risking his life with her was not something he could afford before a battle.

He wondered if displacing the Alliance with EC Specials would really change anything. Vampire politics were more vicious than human politics, and more deadly. He had to wonder, would they really be better rulers of Earth?

* * *

Treize sat respectfully as Field Marshall Noventa gave a stirring speech about how the Alliance had become the very thing it was created to suppress. He believed they should be disarming, not arming themselves. It was a lovely sentiment, very human.

General Septum seemed rather aghast at the idea. Surprisingly, General Ventei was the first to voice support for the concept of unilateral disarmament. It seemed Ventei had grown tired of the bloodshed involved in a military powered unity government.

Treize was struck by the irony of his sentiments. There were some who felt the bloodshed had been a mere whetting of appetites. If all went well, today, there would be plenty of blood flowing. Septum, of course, recognized that the recent attacks by the assassins was a concern that the military should address.

Suddenly Septum dragged him into the conversation, since the Specials were the primary targets. "Clearly, the colonies have sent them to weaken our military." Noventa, of course, prattled on about peace, with no awareness that it wasn't the colonies, but their vampires, that were attacking. If such a path was taken, the Earth Clan would completely fail to achieve their goals. Peace through tolerance was unacceptable. Surely, with this many leaders, at least one hawk still had sharp talons.

Right on cue, Septum rose to his feet to point out they were under attack. Septum would be the one to give voice to their response, but there was one group of people who needed to prove the futility of peace. When the alarms when off, Treize had to work hard to not smile. The assassins were right on time.

* * *

Heero and Duo were impressed. The volume of troops was amazing. Clearly, the EC was well defended. This was clearly no Alliance meeting, despite what had been advertised. They were coordinating their attacks as much as possible. The human troops seemed bewildered at the effect Duo's grenades had. Heero pick the vampires off from the edge of the stink bomb radius, while Duo waded through the humans, inflicting terror on them.

They were inflicting massive casualties, but slowly. They needed to push through faster. Heero started burning blood almost as fast as he was guzzling it from his victims. Duo's aggression was surprisingly effective. He might not completely suck, after all.

* * *

Treize was pleased. They had arrived. "Send the signal."

* * *

Zechs received word. "Operation Daybreak is a go! All units, commence attack!" The advantage of vampire troop carriers is that they don't require parachutes. At least, the EC don't. Hundreds of troops dropped from the aircraft, plummeting towards the ground. As the air resistance began to slow them, they shifted into a diving position, slipping through the air with increasing speed. As they neared the ground, each trooper spread his wings, braking sharply to land with confidence. Nairobi's base was covered in armed vampires.

* * *

In front of everyone, the Field Marshall demanded that his men speak with the attackers. Treize smiled as the proposal as made to declare a desire for peace with the colonies. Noventa clearly had no idea what was really at stake. He was a casualty of the war between the Clans.

After his men rebuffed the suggestion, Treize took the opportunity to "salvage" the situation. "Marshall, I believe we have no option but to evacuate."

"Treize, this isn't the time..."

"Would you rather die in an attack? You cannot offer peace from the grave, Field Marshall."

"As much as I wish it weren't so, you're correct."

"We have a high-speed shuttle available for your use, Sir."

"I must admit, this is surprising."

"We are both Alliance, Field Marshall. We must work together."

"Thank you."

Treize's men guided the leadership to the shuttle. It was clearly stamped with the Specials logo, a giant target. The lemmings allowed themselves to be ushered to the trap, as meekly as cattle. Even General Septum would have walked in, had Treize not diverted him. As predicted, the flattery of a special trip, and being the backup member of the coalition, had the desired effect. Septum allowed himself to be persuaded.

* * *

The staff of the New Edwards base worked frantically to contain the disaster that was the attacking vampires. As they prepared to pour more troops against the invaders, they received news of revolts at Fairbanks Base, Nairobi, everywhere!

Something was happening. It was clear there was a coup d'etat occurring.

* * *

Noin was pleased. The young vampires she had spent so much time training were proving to be everything she had hoped for. Humans were simply no match for a highly coordinated attack. The fact that no vampire would fail to detect the difference between a human and vampire made coordinating the attack simple. The EC was loyal to its own.

"Surrender. You're outnumbered, and outclassed." Unfortunately, the commander chose to shoot her, instead. The bullets that tore through her chest hurt, but not as much as her bullets hurt him.

"This is a bloody revolution, to lay the foundation for a new order. Drink up!" Those who chose to surrender were subjected to the horror of seeing their comrades become food for monsters. Then they became ghouls. Noin and her troops guided the new ghouls through eating the evidence.

A few survivors refused to become ghouls. From what she heard, they were delicious.

* * *

The New Edwards base staff were shocked as they realized they were the only remaining Alliance base left. They had heard no word of where the Field Marshall was, nor the rest of the senior staff.

Fear gripped them, as the desperately sought to fight off the attackers. It seemed they had the two contained at last, when two more appeared. One seemed invulnerable to gun fire, and another was leading a squad of forty men.

* * *

Trowa eyed the other space clan vampires with suspicion. He accepted Quatre and his slaves as a necessary evil, but the fucking priest was insufferable. The Life Clan could be a useful ally, however.

As they contemplated each other, they heard the sound of a shuttle taking off. It was clearly marked with the sign of the Specials forces. Their target was escaping! Suddenly, the Life Clan grabbed a grenade from the priest.

"You, Warp, can you deflect this to that shuttle?" It was an odd idea. He could easily boost the speed, or teleport the device if necessary.

"Why not just have me drop it in the pilots' cabin?"

"Because I can barely tolerate holding onto it, with the damned holy garlic oil on it." Trowa's respect for the Life Clan increased immeasurably. The flesh on the boy's hand was visibly scalding as the toxic substance ate at his hand.

"Yeah, I can boost it, if you can throw it hard enough."

"3... 2... 1..." The speed of the throw barely gave him sufficient time to react, even with the warning. Life boy gave it more than enough speed for Trowa to propel it into the craft. The grenade detonated, triggering a secondary, larger explosion of one of the fuel cells. The resulting explosion was deafening.

He barely heard Life boy say "Mission accomplished."

It wasn't until the Dragon Clan appeared that their happiness turned to sorrow. "You fools just destroyed the Alliance pacifists." He turned up a radio so they could all hear the voice of General Septum.

"We were discussing how to propose peace and disarmament with the colonies, and these assassins attacked! Marshall Noventa has been slaughtered, along with many high ranking members of the Alliance."

"You're all fools."

* * *

Lady Une was pleased. "Very nicely done, General Septum. You can only serve one final purpose."

"What?"

Lady Une attacked, draining his body in seconds. Her ghouls fought over the privilege of eating his liver. The loser began sucking the marrow from his bones.

"A magnificent performance. It's a pity you couldn't stick around." She shifted her attention to her minions, "Be sure to finish your dinner, boys. I don't want to have to clean up any blood stains."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The EC continued to pour troops into the battle, seeking to wear down the five space clan, pinning them. "Treize is getting away, thanks to your incompetence! I saw his private jet take off in that direction." Wufei pointed towards the coast.

"I can get there, but I'd like your help," the Warp Clan responded.

"Granted." Wufei stood next to the Warp Clan, and found a sequence of very uncomfortable teleports had taken them to the coast. Unfortunately, they could now see the jet landing on an aircraft carrier. "Oh, crap!"

The next teleport dropped them on the deck of Treize's carrier.

* * *

The remaining three Space Clans found themselves abandoned in the face of mounting opposition. Heero contemplated the revelation that his great success had actually been a failure. He did not fail missions. He had never failed a mission. He had just destroyed every restraint that had kept the EC under control. He had unleashed the dogs of war.

* * *

Quatre watched, dismayed, as the Life Clan suddenly stopped moving, taking bullet hits without flinching. "We screwed up."

"So let's help those two make Treize pay!"

"How, can you jump through space to reach him? Can the vaunted resistance of the Iron Clan let you outrun an airplane?" Quatre questioned the overly eager priest.

"Damn!" It was odd to hear a priest swear away from the pulpit. Then again, being within earshot of the pulpit was... inconvenient.

"We have to get out of here. It's our only chance. We can fight again, later."

They took off in different directions, only to see the Life Clan remain motionless. It wasn't even clear if he was trying to heal the wounds, or just ignoring them. Iron boy shouted, "Get out of there!"

* * *

Lady Une was pleased. She had been given permission from Master Treize to handle the Space Clans herself. She had been entrusted with the most important mission possible. She knew just the MAD device to handle the situation. New Edwards would never be overrun by vermin.

Just as she was about to contact the base, she received a call from them. "Ma'am, we're receiving requests for aircraft to land at New Edwards."

"At New Edwards? No. Deny them permission. But I do have another task for you. You're aware of the Mutually Assured Destruction device on the base, in case it was overrun by humans or other undesirables?"

"Of course, ma'am."

"We've been overrun by vermin. See that they're exterminated before they cause problems at the other bases."

"Understood!"

She wasn't sure if all the soldiers would cooperate. She monitored the alarm system at New Edwards, to determine if she would have to rip out any disobedient throats.

* * *

Major Sally was disturbed. Her platoon was attempting to land, and there were dozens of extra craft attempting to land at the same time.

"What's going on here, Lieutenant?"

"There are numerous aircraft escaping from the New Edwards base."

"Why would they need to have this many vehicles escape? It doesn't make any sense."

"We're being delayed, because many of them weren't properly fueled before takeoff."

This was not a good situation at all. Suddenly, her radio operator interrupted her musings. "Major, they're going to trigger the MAD device at New Edwards!"

"No! This base is downwind from them! If it doesn't disperse fast enough, we'll be taken out as well!"

"They're trying to take out the Space Clan assassins."

"Wing to the ground, NOW! Anyone who gets in our way gets their throat torn out."

Each soldier promptly abandoned his plane. The soldiers in her platoon dove towards the base below them, their wings unfurling slightly in preparation for landing. As they closed on the ground, their wings sprang out, braking sharply into a rough, but survivable, landing.

Sally charged into the base just in time to shout, "Freeze!" The idiot kid grinned as he pushed the button. Sally grinned. "Troops, teach these miscreants the punishment for disobeying a direct order."

"Yes, ma'am!" Three seconds later, Sally observed that the two idiots who had triggered the MAD device were dessicated, drained, and in pieces.

Unfortunately, ripping idiots apart didn't nullify the destruct mechanism.

* * *

Heero felt his body be knocked around, distantly. He knew he should be healing the damage, but he only allowed his reflexes to stop the bleeding. He heard a vague buzzing from the idiot priest, but it was unimportant, compared to the significance of his failure. He had failed his mission! It wasn't possible!

"Heero!" Someone calling him? A familiar voice, from a familiar state. It was the EC that had 'nursed' him back to health!

The voice sounded over the PA system again, "Heero, there's a device in the base that's set to go off, if the base is ever overrun. It releases a virus, developed from efforts to duplicate the Dragon Clan's powers. If it goes off, everyone caught in the cloud with even a drop of vampire blood will be incinerated. You have to stop it. We could lose all vampires, ghouls, and humans in Arizona and New Mexico!"

The slaver and priest managed to get animated, arguing about whether to try escaping or not. The priest was thinking he might be immune. The slaver knew he was screwed. Heero burned blood.

"Heero, the device is in the subbasement of the base. You have less than ten minutes left. Please, deactivate the device!"

"Mission accepted." Heero's legs burned blood as he sprinted to the base. A sharp kick broke down the door, and he pried open the elevator doors so he could drop to the basement. His tibia snapped on landing, but he shook it out and kept moving. He'd worry about straightening it later.

"Heero, the device is housed in BB304. You have to disable the explosives that will launch the virus into the atmosphere. It's highly concentrated, and will billow over the entire base. You have to prevent it."

* * *

Reverend Maxwell retreated into the hangar with the slaver. He really couldn't say he approved of the method, but had to admit the results were impressive. The boy's ghouls made an impressive meat shield, protecting him from bullets, shrapnel, and even a flamethrower.

Duo started prepping two small planes for takeoff. He was looking for speed, not elegance. "I'll have the runway cleared in a couple minutes. Make sure you get one ready for Heero, too."

"You're that sure he'll succeed?"

"Absolutely!"

* * *

Sally sat and waited, as her men began to panic. "The timer's still going!" "There's no way that kid can stop it!" "We're all gonna fry, from the inside out!"

Sally decided the panic was getting out of control. "No, we aren't. I've seen what he can do, and we'll live. I believe it. I look forward to when I can say I knew the Space Clan kid that saved Earth Clan from itself."

* * *

Heero had broken in, but the bombs were set to shatter the vials. He really had only one choice.

"Bottoms up!" He tossed back the vials of virus and swallowed.

The pain that shot through his body was incredible. The pain that battered his body as the bombs went off hurt almost as much.

* * *

Lady Une was forced to come to Master Treize and admit her failure. "I'm sorry, sir. I failed to kill them."

"That's surprising. How were you planning to finish them?"

"The MAD device, sir."

"And?"

"It appears the Life Clan swallowed the entire virus, keeping the explosion from releasing it."

"Did you recover his body?"

"No, sir. It is assumed he was incinerated from inside and out."

"I see. So he provided life to the Earth Clan."

"Sir?"

"Did you ever consider what would have happened if that virus had reached the upper atmosphere? We could have lost every Earth Clan vampire, dhampire, and much of our food. You cannot be so reckless."

Lady Une processed what he was saying. She could have killed them all.

"You must learn more about the Earth Clan."

She had failed her Master. She had failed to understand his purposes.

* * *

Zechs realized that there would be no way to conquer the Alliance Headquarters by brute force. It seemed the Brigadier-General had discovered the exceptional condition of Specials troops and sent them on particularly suicidal missions. He had systematically purged headquarters of all vampires and ghouls.

Aside from the extreme loss of life, it put them in the uncomfortable situation of having to besiege the place. While the area around headquarters was a devastated wasteland, there was no sign of weakness.

Zechs hated having to take advantage of his tribe's special ability. Using it was a risk, as an observant vampire could realize what it meant. Still, the Peacecraft wyrms had been able to hold onto their ideals for a reason. His tribe had a lot of fantastic diggers. Burrowing under the walls, Zechs was able to come up within the compound near the command building.

As he came up to Daigo Onegell's office, he heard the egomaniac giving voice to his determination. Zechs, on the other hand, could only feel a cold rage well up within him. "You do have magnificent defenses, Sir. It's a real shame you didn't cover ever possible attack vector."

The Brigadier-General spun around in surprise. "Zechs Merquise! How did you get in here?"

"Ah, you recognized me. You've always been cautious around me. I suspected you recognized me."

"I eliminated the Sanc Kingdom under orders! It was a direct order! It wasn't my fault!"

"The Sanc Kingdom did not resist. You annihilated us anyway. It was excessive force, and you know it. You attacked without provocation. You destroyed my family!" Beneath his helmet, Zechs' eyes blazed red, giving an eerie glow to the eye slits. Daigo was clearly terrified. "You led the attack!"

Suddenly understanding reached Daigo's eyes. "Milliardo Peacecraft. It can't be!" He dashed for the gun in his desk and shot Zechs repeatedly, emptying the clip.

"That cost me blood, General. You'll have to replace it." Zechs launched himself across the desk and plunged his hand into Daigo's chest, tearing through the ribcage to rip out his heart. Daigo's eyes widened in shock, just before he died.

Zechs ate his heart. "Rest in peace, Milliardo," he muttered as he licked his lips. "May you never rise again, you outraged, betrayed heir of Peacecraft."

* * *

Lady Une sat on the bridge of the Treize's carrier, contemplating what he had said to her. She had spent years waiting for him to judge her worthy of becoming a vampire. She had served him obediently as a ghoul for so long. How could she still not understand him?

She had always been obedient. Other ghouls had tried to resist his commands, but not her. Lady Une had been completely obedient at all times. She didn't resist him, no matter how degrading it might be to offer herself as food.

Three years ago, she had been found worthy. Now, she continued to serve him the only way she knew. She used all the viciousness she had learned on the streets as a prostitute, along with the manners he had taught her as a ghoul, to accomplish his desires.

Was it possible that her viciousness was not pleasing to him? Was there more to being a vampire than ruling over the humans?

Her reverie was interrupted by the sound of screaming metal. "Ma'am, two individuals have just appeared on the main deck! Their appearance seems to have damaged the deck!"

Lady Une stared at the two Space Clan vampires who had just appeared. "Kill them! They're the enemy!"

As her troops charged the invaders, the Dragon Clan unleashed an inferno on the deck. The Warp Clan dropped to his knee. Perhaps he had weakened himself enough to be vulnerable. "Throw the Dragon overboard! Shoot the Warp!"

Her troops rushed in, obediently, and discovered that they'd been duped. The Warp Clan stood back up, and stepped aside as the Dragon dove through the hole he'd created in the deck. The hail of bullets resulted in numerous wounded EC, but no damage to the boy with ridiculous bangs.

"Stop shooting him! Wrap him in ghouls and get rid of him! I'm going to protect Master Treize!"

"Yes, Ma'am!"

* * *

Wufei moved quickly through the bowels of the carrier, searching for the suite that would contain his prey. Treize Khushrenada had to be removed.

Suddenly, a woman appeared before him. "You'll go no further, Dragon!"

"You cannot stop me, woman."

She swung at him, only to have him deflect her blow and sear her with flames for her trouble. To his surprise, she took the burns of a ghoul, rather than incinerating.

"You'll go no further!"

She was clearly a vampire, yet not reacting to the flames. Was she a renegade Life Clan? He caught her wrist on her next swing and poured fire into his grip. She screamed, but would not yield.

"This will end, woman." He poured the flame into her, severing her hand at the wrist. Somehow, she managed to live and swung with her other hand.

"That was stupid. Now you die!"

Suddenly, the PA system fired up. "I'm just ahead of you, Dragon Clan. I'll face you."

The woman crumpled. "No, let me protect you."

Wufei abandoned her for his target. Entering through the door, he saw his target, and the wreath of flame went out. So, this man was prepared.

"I'm Wufei."

"And I am Treize Khushrenada."

A quick glance told him they were both armed with swords. The odor could only be halon gas, snuffing out his flames. He drew his curved blade as Treize drew his rapier. After a brief salute, blades flashed.

Wufei was pleased. This man was a true challenge, unlike the woman he'd left behind. The smug, confident look was a bit much, though. Treize easily fended off his attacks, using light, almost effortless counters.

Treize suddenly launched a counter attack that forced Wufei to flip backwards. He used classic counter, rebounding off the wall to counter while Treize was overextended. Instead of striking bone, however, Treize spun out of the way, leaving Wufei's blade unimpeded. Worse, he finished the spin by placing his blade at Wufei's throat!

Wufei had lost! It was unacceptable! "Finish it!"

Treize's blade dropped. "It was a good fight."

"Finish me, or I'll come back for you!"

"I look forward to that day." Treize would humiliate him again? It was infuriating! To be shamed, and denied the chance to die honorably? It was unbelievable! He slammed his blade into the floor and stormed out in fury.

He sought penance in the waves, feeling the sting of the water as it bit at his flesh.

* * *

Lady Une stood in next to her Master, grateful, but confused. "Sir, why did you let him escape?"

"He's a true warrior, and an honorable assassin of the Dragon Clan. It seems fair to give him another chance. This time, I denied him his power, and withheld my own. Next time, we'll try a vampires' duel."

"But, Sir..." He could die. Why would he risk unlife for a battle with that assassin? She didn't understand him, after all these years.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Zechs basked in the praise Noin heaped upon him. Capturing the Alliance Headquarters had been a great victory, one that had made it possible for the surrounding land to be preserved. At the same time, it was disturbing that there were rogue vampires about that sought personal power over the greater good of the EC. Such rogues could not be allowed.

While planning their strategy to eliminate the remain Alliance forces, Noin made a disturbing comment. "This land is pretty, no matter who rules."

"Noin, it isn't the goal of the Earth Clan to rule the world, but to unify it into one nation. Without national borders, we can all move freely about the world."

"But what will it take to enforce that goal? Humans love to fight amongst themselves. They have no desire to be unified as one nation. As long as they resist, we'll be inconvenienced."

"We may have to show them the way, at first, but I believe we can educate the humans to understand the value of peace and unity."

It was disturbing that she had so little faith in their ability to guide humans. It was for the good of both humanity and the Earth Clan that this happen. Why did she doubt? His thoughts were interrupted by the notice that a carrier from Victoria Base was about to land.

Zechs rushed to the landing zone of the carrier, eager to hear the latest news from Otto on the progress being made at Victoria. The last report had sounded promising. As the door opened, he couldn't contain himself. "Otto, I'm so glad to see you..." The greeting died on his lips as his friend stumbled into the doorway.

Otto was badly shrunken in, nearly empty of blood and ready for torpor. It was amazing he could even stand, if staggering against the doorway could be called standing. "I've returned, Lieutenant."

Otto's assistant rushed to his side. "You need to rest!"

"Are you okay?" What could have done this to his friend?

His assistant responded, instead, "Lieutenant Otto shouldn't be standing! Those damned drugs are still in his system, draining him of blood! We trying to control it, but there's a risk that he'll fry himself at any moment!"

"Screw you," Otto interrupted, "Lieutenant Zechs, the Tallgeese project is a success, but very unstable." Zechs and Noin climbed the stairs into the converted carrier, where the drugs and other equipment from Victoria were located. "It does everything we could possibly want, granting us most of the powers of the other clans. I wasn't able to determine the exact limits of it."

Noin looked sharply at Otto. "You were the guinea pig?"

"Yes. You can't give this drug to just anyone. It exacts a heavy toll on whoever uses it, excluding you, sir."

"Don't you think you're over-rating me?"

"No, I trust your abilities."

"Alright, I'll be using this on my next mission."

Finally, with his report completed, Otto consented to be taken to the medical facilities. Once he was gone, Zechs turned to Noin. "Have the troops ready to move, at once. We'll head to the Sanq Kingdom Alliance base."

"Sanq Kingdom?"

"We're freeing them from the Alliance. I'll be using the Tallgeese project."

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"Don't worry, I'll take it easy."

He thought he heard her comment on his home town, as he strode away.

* * *

The brat had followed him. Worse, he insisted on being on the same team for basketball. Worse, he insisted on treating Heero as the ultimate star. How was he supposed to keep a low profile, if he kept being put in the position of standing out? Any other player would try to drive the ball home, not pass it off to someone who could beat you out of a scholarship to college.

Duo was truly obnoxious. Worse, he loved being in the spotlight. "Hey, wave back to them, or something. Their cheering for us, _superstar_." Like he wanted to be a superstar. He wanted to be unnoticed. He walked away to gaze at the next target, a carrier.

His planning was interrupted by the pest. "So here's where you went. You know, we figured you must have died in that inferno."

"A little fire isn't going to kill me."

"A little fire that just happened to not release the virus?"

"I drank it." That got a gratifying reaction out of the brat. Heero smirked. "I don't recommend it. It hurt." That was an understatement. It had nearly killed him. Escaping the rubble and hunting in near torpor had not been fun.

"I bet. What do you think it would have done to me?"

"Nothing, or killed you. Those are the only possibilities for you."

"Okay, tough guy. What say we make a small wager?. You may be tough, but can you beat me at taking out the carrier?"

Heero just stared at the brat. How had he known?

"I can see it in your eyes. We're both going after that ship. Let's make it a contest."

The sound of a car door caught both their attention. Relena. What was she doing here? That stupid dhampire had nearly gotten herself killed once, already. And yet, he was glad to see her again. Why did she confuse him so? All he could do was stare as she strode confidently towards him.

Suddenly, her firm expression broke into a cheerful smile. "Heero, I wanted to see you."

The brat had to ruin the moment with his usual smart-alec cracks. "Well, it's not your usual chick, looking for the vamp that wants to eat her."

Heero wondered when he'd get the opportunity to behead the priestling.

* * *

Zechs contemplated the Tallgeese cocktail as Noin's voice sounded in his ear. "All troops are descending."

"Then I'll leave as well."

"I'll be backing you up. Concentrate on completing your mission, Lieutenant Zechs."

"I'm totally focused, Noin."

"We'll lure the ground troops away, but there may be some anti-air fire for you to deal with."

"Don't worry, I should be able to deal with it."

Zechs tossed back the cocktail and dropped out of the troop carrier. As the air caught his wings, he felt a sudden awareness of the space around him, every cell of his body, and the fires of Hell waiting to incinerate everything in the world. Was this what the other clans experienced?

He pricked the skin of one hand with his talons, experimentally. Fire blossomed from his palm, searing it with pain! He quickly told the cells to heal from the damage, quenching the fire. As he stared at his palm, he watched the blisters quickly recede.

Shifting his attention to the space around him, he could feel the curvature of space-time and sense how to manipulate it. He tweaked the space in front of him, and was thrown up several feet as a sudden boom sounded from where space had warped before him. Apparently, warping space like that was like creating a thunderclap.

Zechs was beginning to wonder if testing the cocktail this way may have been unwise. He sparked fire again, this time directing it behind him. With a little concentration, he found he could use it as a jet. He stretched out his wings, and heard one snap.

As he started spinning out of control, he focused his attention on the wing, healing it. The flames around him started eating into his flesh. He shifted his concentration fully to the flames, only minimally directing his flesh to heal. Once stabilized, he looked around to reorient himself. He heard something come over the com unit. "Retreat!"

Zechs realized there was a massive increase in the anti-air fire. "Noin, order all units to withdraw from here, at once."

"No, we're still in the fight!"

"We should regroup. We can attack from another direction." Why was he being so cowardly?

Zechs dove, jet powering his way towards the enemy base. Suddenly, his attention again divided, his body started tearing as space around him began to warp in response to his intentions. In a panic, he veered away from the base. He couldn't balance the Tallgeese cocktail on the fly. He would have to carefully learn how to use it.

All he knew was that internal organs had started tearing themselves apart, and it felt like fire and life were fighting at those wounds. Worse, it was eating through his reserves of blood, and he didn't know how long the effects would last. He suddenly realized, he'd die if he kept fighting.

* * *

Lady Une was pleased. They were having constant success as they took over the secondary bases from the Alliance. Master Treize was going to review one of the bases they had just conquered. Treize was celebrating with a glass of AB positive, chilled, with a hint of B negative swirled in to bring out the flavor.

"Lady, won't you join me?"

"Master Treize, what would you suggest for our next target?"

"Let's just continue fighting, and winning." Fighting and winning? Any and all targets?

"You mean to conquer the entire Earth Sphere Alliance?"

"That would be plenty. The Specials would then be hated, and become the target for the entire world." Why would he want the Specials, the EC, to be hated? It made no sense.

"What are you saying?"

"Those that are hated, must remain strong. It would be the perfect motivation for the green EC members."

To be hated was strength. To be hated was motivation. Was he saying that she should be hated as well? Was that the secret to his own success? But how could anyone hate Master Treize? She loved him. Perhaps they would have to be hated by the world.

* * *

Quatre was annoyed. He had lost half his ghouls during the botched mission. Now, he was put in the position of attempting to replace them. Of course, all of his surviving ghouls wanted to screen the potential recruits. He finally kicked out all of them, except Rasid.

Rasid was loyal, even without the absolute control Quatre wielded over him. Unfortunately, they would have to expose themselves to find worthy recruits. "I'm very upset with you too, Master Quatre."

"I'm sorry, Rasid. I didn't expect things to go so badly."

"What do you make of the other assassins?"

"They're good guys."

"How can you tell?"

"The soul of outer space tells me." Rasid looked at him with no comprehension. Quatre didn't bother to explain. He didn't know, himself.

* * *

Trowa sat across the fire from the Dragon. A coffee pot sat between them over it. They both stared at the ground.

"Hey, you two. You call that fun?" Trowa looked up; the Dragon didn't. "You haven't said a word for two hours."

"What do you want?"

"Nice greeting, and here I thought I'd be doing you a favor, bringing you this. I'll just leave it here. Clean the dishes when you're done." Catherine left, thank goodness.

They ignored the inedible food. Instead, Trowa poured dark liquid from the pot into two cups. "This may not be the best 'java'." He handed one cup over, while sipping the heated blood from his own.

"I've no right continuing the Nataku project."

"Oh yeah?"

The Dragon took the cup and sipped. "Thank you."

Later, Trowa threw the food in the bushes, and cleaned all the dishes.

* * *

Noin hovered over Zechs, awaiting the report. She was deeply disturbed to see him so close to torpor.

"You're very lucky, Lieutenant, you've got internal burns, and and every bone in your body has been broken and rehealed. I can't even tell what happened with the soft-tissue damage. Given that, you're recovering nicely. We'll have to slowly return you to a normal blood level, to ensure the drug is flushed from your system."

Noin was not amused. It seemed the Tallgeese project had created something that was more dangerous to the user than the enemy. "Zechs, what in the world happened?"

"I completely underestimated the Tallgeese's effects. The user gains the powers of Dragon, Life, and Warp Clans, but not the experience to balance them. The result is that you either burn yourself or tear yourself apart, but regenerate yourself back to wholeness.

"As you experiment with them, you slowly get knocked further and further off balance, until the powers go wild within you, turning against you. The result is that you have the power to conquer any enemy, but not the skill to use it.

"You risk death if you want to use it to win." Noin had suspected as much, but it was terrifying to hear him speak of it so calmly. She had seen the medical charts, and knew how much damage he had really suffered. Fortunately, until the Tallgeese drug finished flushing out of his system, he was restricted to bed rest.

"You need to rest. You cannot risk death for now."

"We'll attack tomorrow evening." Thank goodness he had managed better control than Otto. He'd been laid up for several days.

Suddenly, they got a message from their radar operator. "Someone's left with a jet pack!"

"Who?" Noin couldn't have someone running a mission that might reveal their location at this time.

Suddenly, Otto's voice came over the line. "I've taken the Tallgeese cocktail, and am on my way to conquer the Sanq Kingdom base."

Zechs rushed up to the control, causing his arm to bend and realign itself at mid-bicep. "Get back here!"

"I will attain victory for my life!" The line went dead, and Zechs collapsed.

* * *

Relena contemplated the photo of her father, Vice Minister Darlian. "Father, why did you leave me confused? How am I to deal with your loss, while I find myself chasing this boy? What am I, Father?"

* * *

Heero observed Duo playing with the EC troops. He sat back, knowing the bet would soon be won. Sure enough, the brat priest created the opening he needed. Running with boosted speed, Heero ran through a hole in their line to deposit C4 in the command center. The explosion blew him off the ship.

* * *

Otto had given up on life. He could only support the rightful heir to his deceased king. He knew he couldn't master all three abilities, but he could force the flame into a warp bubble.

"Long live King Zechs!"

He crashed into the base, releasing the super-concentrated flame with his death. The explosion took out the base, turning it into rubble.

* * *

Zechs looked at the image of his sire. He was unworthy to be heir of Peacecraft. He had fought to destroy the individual countries. His only hope was that his little sister would be strong enough, once she embraced her heritage.


End file.
